Pages

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Yep, we got more goats. Last night we got 2 beautiful Alpine does - Shelby and Tisha. They came from a Grade A goat dairy that was selling out.

First, here's Shelby. She is pregnant and due in August. She typically has triplets and milks 2 1/2 gallons a day - wow! She is a very big girl and kind of reminds me of a dairy cow ;). And no, she is not currently in milk - since she is due in about a month and she milks SO MUCH, she is already uddering up :).

Second, this is Tisha. She is also due the end of August, and is currently milking a gallon a day. She has a beautiful udder and is super easy to milk. Tisha is also a very sweet goat ;). She is a big girl also but not quite as big as Shelby.

Since I had the camera out, how could I not take pictures of these cute little Nubians?!?

4
comments:

Very cute good goats!!:) We' re about to move on a farm and want to get goats, do you have any suggestions for what goat breeds are best for an uneperienced new farmers? Thank you, and have a good day!! :D (Very nice and informative blog with beautiful pictures!!)

It really depends on what you are looking to do with your new goats. Are you getting them for milk, show, meat, pets? Some of everything? Just some things to think about. Because there are the common big dairy breeds - Alpine, Saanen, Nubian, Toggenburg, Oberhasli, LaMancha. Then there are the mini dairy breeds - Nigerian Dwarf, MiniNubian, etc.

Then for meat goats there are Boers, Kikos, Spanish, and more. There are also Pygmy goats that are mainly used as pets, although ALL goats can be pets ;). All of the breeds can be shown also, through the fairy and/or the breed associations (ADGA, ABGA, IBGA, MDGA, etc).

We personally like the Alpines, Nubians and MiniNubians. After trying MANY breeds those are definitely our favorites, give delicious milk and are oh so sweet ;).

That was probably a little bit more info than what you were looking for but, if you have any other questions feel free to ask or you can always email me also (sf@goodgoats.net).

Thank you much S, we will get the 2 Alpines and 2 Boers in the following month. Would be OK to keep them together? Also is it OK to milk them only one time insteed twice a day? After the kid(s) are born when to start milking? My common sense tell me after the kids start on pasture which will be what? 3-4 weeks? Thanks a lot S!

No problem ;). Yes you can keep your Boers and Alpines together - we do :)!

Milking once a day is totally fine also. We typically pull all kids at birth and bottle raise them, and milk the mom twice a day. But, if you want the moms to raise the babies - leave them with her 24/7 until they are about 2 weeks old. Then start separating them either all night, and then milk the mom in the morning before putting the kids back with her. Or separate them all day and milk her at night before putting them back together. Many people do it this way and it works perfectly fine.

Kids will start nibbling on feed when they are a few weeks old, but don't eat enough to be weaned till a few months old. The earliest we wean our kids is 3 months, but we typically keep them on the bottle until 5 months or so - but we just spoil 'em ;).

About Me

Hello! My name is Suriyah. Me and my family raise quality Mini-Nubians, Nubians, Alpines and Boers. We also have many other animals including sheep, llamas, donkeys, ponies, pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, quail, dogs and cats. Feel free to check out our website for more info and ask any questions you may have! I am also 18 years old and blessed to be the 4th of 11 children, living in the country in beautiful Oklahoma! Follow along my blog to read about our family's life and life on the farm, which will at times be happy and other times be sad :). But above all, make sure you fear God and believe the Bible. Have a good day and I hope you enjoy reading!